A Link to the Present (Redux)
by AFightingDreamer
Summary: What's that? You've heard this tale before? Ah... But you see... A tale grows in the telling. Pieces forgotten... passages omitted... deeds and songs stretched and shaped to fit the image the storytellers want you to see... But I know the truth... You see... I was there. I witnessed the boy lost in time... find far more than just his place in a strange new world. Will you hear it?
1. Chapter-0: Prologue

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Present Redux

Chapter 0: Prologue

* * *

This is a legend passed down through the ages...

A tale of a young boy once filled with courage and an indomitable spirit...

A young boy who faced a great and terrible evil... alone.

A boy who, at the end of his journey, asked a single question that finally showed the fractured lines in his soul.

A question even the goddesses could not answer:

'Why?'

* * *

Lightning flashed all around the now ruined landscape. Rain fell in torrential sheets as if the heavens themselves were openly weeping in agony at the state of the land the goddesses had created.

A lone figure leans heavily on the hilt of a blade, its tip buried atop a hill overlooking the scene below.

Despite the rain... everything was burning.

The once proud castle walls lay in crumbled heaps. The great wooden bridge had washed away as nothing more than a pile of splinters. In the distance, the figure on the hill could almost make out a darker shadow slash away at what remained of Castle Town. It roared and bellowed in triumph as another section collapsed before its glowing eyes turned toward his direction.

**_Crash! Crash! Crash!_**

The ground began to shake more and more as each step brought the looming shadow closer and closer.

The figured took in a shaky breath and slowly stood to his feet. He was a fair youth... not yet a man, but no longer the boy he once was. His shield lay at his feet as his broken arm could no longer bear the burden. A soft golden glow emanated weakly from his left hand as his grip tightened around the hilt of his weapon. He let out a humorless laugh.

Legendary weapon indeed...

He looked down at the fabled 'Blade of Evil's Bane' and frowned. A holy blade... sacred... something evil ones may never touch...

He scoffed...

Little good did the legends comfort him when his strikes were easily swept aside. A supposed relic of immense power, and yet, it took every ounce of his strength to pierce the hide of the monster that now stood but a few hundred yards off. The glow on his hand wavered and he caught his reflection in the blade as a streak of lightning dance across the sky.

"In the end... legends are simply stories we tell ourselves to ward off our fears in the night... right, princess?" His tired reflection offered no comfort to him, only an equally cynical gaze. "...How ridiculous..."

He turned his gaze to the monstrosity before him. Despite its earlier bravado, the creature was far more worse for wear than it seemed. Their gazes locked and a strange, silent, understanding passed between them. This was the end. It didn't matter who stood victorious after this final clash. Hyrule was destroyed. The Triforce of Wisdom fled with its princess, against her will, and was far from the now ruined kingdom as it could be. He allowed himself an amused smile. Until she woke up that is. No doubt she would be furious with him, but by the time she reached him now, he doubted he would still be standing.

The glow dimmed further.

"Still... despite all of that... I have to believe." He slowly raised the blade to a ready position, "Believe that all of this... was worth something in the end..." The glow brightened a bit. "Hey, Lady Farore? I know i'm complaining at this point... but, how about a little more help? Just one last time." He felt something stir within him as the glow on his hand grew in brightness and intensity. "...Thank you... and... forgive me. I have failed you all."

They both stood still as the rain fell. The air hummed with anticipation as both combatants stared each other down.

**_Crash!_**

Lightning flashed between them and thunder boomed in the distance, drowning out the sounds of their battle cries as they charged each other. Closer and closer they drew, blades raised high and golden light shining all around them.

...

Thunder crashed in the distance.

And the heavens continued to weep.

* * *

**Back by unpopular demand: ME!**

**It has been a while! Far too long actually...**

**Huh... wonder if anyone of you who read the first version of this are still hanging around here... That'd be nice wouldn't it? **

**Welp, I said one day I would try and redo this story (And actually give it a proper ending this time) and here I am... so... yay?**


	2. Chapter-1: Back to the Future

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Present Redux

Chapter 1: Back to the Future

_Time passes, people move... like a river's flow, it never ends..._

* * *

***Hmm? What's that?***

***...***

***Ah! You are correct. I did not tell you of the conclusion of that great battle...***

***But, you see, I believe we both know the battle itself is of no consequence to this tale...***

***In the end... neither party was victorious. Their fatal blows landed and the kingdom of Hyrule fell to ruin, never to recover.***

***...***

***Oh? 'That doesn't make any sense!' you say?***

***Hah! Inquisitive one, aren't you?***

***Well... I suppose there is a small portion that may be of some importance...***

* * *

His vision was blurred and his ears could only hear the sounds of his rushing blood but he could feel his blade sinking deep into the beasts hide. Just as he could feel a blade being pushed into his own. He felt the blood and bile rising in his throat as he continued to drive his blade deeper.

"***Cough*** ...what a pair we make... Hero..." The monster, reverting to his gerudo form as his dark powers weakened, spoke through pained, wet coughs, "In the end... ***Cough Cough!* **we have both failed in our missions." The gerudo king let out a slow laugh, "But... if you think I am finished here... you are sadly mistaken..."

Even before the evil king moved, the young hero could feel a final burst of dark energy erupt around him, forcing them apart, blades and all. The hero landed painfully on his stomach several yards away and could do nothing but watch as the king slowly climbed to his feet.

"Hear me... O' hero of hyrule! By the blood that flows through my veins and stains this ground, neither you nor I shall pass this day!" Dark magic formed from the king's hands as he channeled his power into the curse. "Through passing of days, seasons, and ages shall we sleep! And on the day when she who bears royal blood shall stumble upon our battleground, with the final piece of the golden power, this curse shall be broken. And the true end to our battle shall finally determine who is worthy of the ultimate power, The Triforce!"

As the final words left his lips, the king toppled over and landed face first on the ground. The ground shook and swallowed the king of the gerudo as the land began to shift and change violently, reacting to the curse. The hero tried to stand, to run, to fight back, anything he could do to resist the curse. However... his eyes were heavy and his body spent. He watched as a thick fog and large trunks burst forth from the ground below quickly forming a canopy above of dense forrest where there was once a vast sprawling plain.

The hero lay there, staring up at the trees forming around him and let out a sigh, "Dammit... and here I was hoping that I could finally get some rest..." His eyelids slid shut, "...of course. Why would I ever be deserving of something like rest? In the end I'm nothing... but a failure..."

* * *

***And so... the hero and the evil king slept through seasons and ages, without end.***

***The princess, her home and purpose lost, searched endlessly for her hero... but every attempt proved futile. The kingdom of hyrule fell to ruin and the royal lineage became muddied and blurred through the ages...***

***...***

***Indeed. The hero and the evil king survived their mortal wounds and fell into a deep slumber.***

***...?***

***Hmm? How did they survive? Well, magic is a curious thing... sometimes, when used hastily or improperly, it gains a will of its own. We call this, 'Wild Magic'.***

***...***

***Hahahahha! 'That sounds like an excuse' you say?! Well, in a sense, it is. However, as I said, that particular portion of the story is not as relevant as the telling of the story itself.***

***...?***

***Very well. What happened next was...***

* * *

True to the king's word, ages passed without seeing the return of the hero or the great evil that followed. The land had fallen and Hyrule's princess did her best to unite the people again, but they were far too scattered and broken apart. In a last ditch effort she tried to find the hero, but that too ended in failure.

Eventually, as all things do, the princess and time itself moved on.

And one-thousand years passed.

A time of peace ensued, despite the great tragedy, and the people of the world leapt forward into the future. A great technological and industrial revolution formed the basis of our society today. Machines that turned the earth faster than any horse drawn plow. Mechanical devices that harnessed the power of electricity to bring light and knowledge in the blink of an eye. Metal carriages that required no horses to pull them.

However, with this great advancement, much of the past was left behind. And soon the world forgot when heroes and evil kings existed.

This is where 'their' story, truly, begins.

* * *

-Date: 08/29/XX18-

-Hylla Township-

-Mayor Gaepora's Home-

* * *

The sun rose over the mountains to the east, bathing its golden hues across the many buildings that dotted the town. The great forest to the west caught the rays in their boughs as the birds began to signal the start of a new day as cuccos crowed in the distance. The Lake of Hylla glimmered to the north like a shining crystal mirror. It was shaping up to be a bright and early day.

And Zelda hated every second of it.

"Mrrgh... go away sun... it's too early for you to be out..." The brunette attempted to burrow even deeper into her blanket fortress. But, alas, her outer defenses fell before the might of her greatest enemy... the alarm clock. "Oh, come on... five more minutes? That's all I ask..." Though she grumbled and complained, within half an hour, she found herself sitting at the dining room table as her father place her breakfast in front of her.

Their house was by no means a mansion or anything of that sort but, being the mayor, it was fairly large and very well furnished. Gaepora's naturally kind nature and strong sense of duty and justice won the hearts of the townsfolk every election year. So much so that, most times, he never had any real opponents that ran against him. This led to many, in a good joking nature, referring to him as the King of Hylla. While the phrase did bother him a bit, he never felt the urge to 'rule' over anyone, he took the name in stride and assumed the role when appropriate.

Which, in turn, led to Zelda being referred to as 'princess,' much to her chagrin. And with that title came all of the 'perks'. The boys would stare whenever they thought she wasn't looking and the girls shot her dirty looks when her back was turned. It also didn't help that she took after her mother in terms of looks. Beautiful auburn hair. Smooth, almost perfect, skin, and deep, blue eyes. People simultaneously put her up on a pedestal and tried to drag her in the mud. Which made dating... difficult. She picked through her food, aware that it was customary in the fall to have a school festival to celebrate the start of the harvest season. With festivals came dancing, and with dancing came dates. She let out a long sigh at the thought. Whoever said being popular was something to strive for should be kicked off a cliff.

"Yahooo~! Zelda? C'mon, we're gonna be late!" Came the melodic voice of her best friend, and closest confidant, Malon. A simple, but by no means unintelligent, girl, Malon had no such reservations about her title or looks. To Malon, Zelda was simply that. Zelda. Her best friend.

And Zelda cherished the girl more than anything for it. After saying goodbye to her father, Zelda met the red haired girl at the door and the two started chatting away as they walked towards the school.

Malon herself was, in Zelda's own humble opinion, just as much a looker herself. In some ways, Zelda actually envied the girls charms as well as her more... defining features. 'There has to be some kind of secret diet to get them to grow that big...' She thought, jealousy, as her eyes moved slightly up and down in tandem with her friends movements.

Meanwhile, Malon babbled on about anything and everything that seemed to strike her fancy, "...and the cuccos really don't seem to like our new farmhand! They start going crazy when she holds them. Oh! Speaking of which, the pregnant mare I told you about finally gave birth! She's a cute little foal that looks just like her mother! We named her Epona! She really seems to like singing, especially my mother's favorite song. Oh! Hey, I don't think I've ever heard you sing! Well? Wanna give it a shot? Ooooo' speaking of shots, I heard you quit the archery club. Why? You really seemed to like it when you started. Was it Ruto again? She's so snobby sometimes, but I promise she means well... probably. It's hard to tell actually..." And on and on she went.

Zelda preferred it like that though.

_"...Forgive me..."_

Zelda blinked in confusion, "Huh? Forgive you for what?"

Then it was Malon's turn to be confused, "What? I'm being forgiven? Wait, how did you find out I ate your breakfast muffin the other day!?"

"You what!? Malon, I was looking forward to tha-"

_"In the end... I'm nothing... but a failure..."_

Zelda went silent and started looking all around her for whatever it was that was speaking, "Shhh... do you hear that? Someone's saying something..."

Malon tilted her head and looked as well, but didn't see or hear anything, "Are you alright? I'm not hearing anything..."

_"...Why would I ever be deserving..."_

_"Useless..."_

_"Rest..."_

_"Too long..."_

_"Too long..." _

_"Asleep... too long..."_

_"Wake... up..."_

_"Have to... wake up..."_

_"Wake me... Zelda..."_

Her feet seemed to move on their own, leading her further and further away from the main road, toward the great forest. If she could hear the worried cries of Malon, she gave no indication as she started into the woods.

Malon, torn between getting help and staying close to her friend, eventually followed after her. "Hey, Zelda? Hey, snap out of it! Zelda, you're freaking me out here..." Malon was practically jumping at shadows by this point. Everyone heard the rumors about the deep forest. A thick fog that turned you around, no matter how straight you walked, and somehow led you back to the entrance. Haunting cries of monsters and ghouls at midnight. Tiny glowing lights that led you to your death. Everything about this place made her hair stand on end. But as long as Zelda kept walking, she would too. "Zelda... please quit moving forward..."

Almost as if the plea had somehow broke the trance, Zelda stopped in front of a giant oak tree and blinked owlishly at her surroundings, "What...? Where? Wait, are we in the forest!? How did we get- Aaagh!?" She bit her tongue and clutched her hand in pain as a burning sensation flared up on the back of her left hand. "Ow.. ow ow ow, what's happening...!?"

Malon rushed over, trying to figure out what was wrong, "Zelda!? Zelda what's the... what...? Your hand... is glowing?"

Sure enough, when the pain subsided, Zelda could clearly see the outline of three golden triangles forming on the back of her hand. One triangle was filled in completely while the other two appeared empty. Before she could question this new development, the forest around them flared to life with huge gusts of wind and loud cracking noises. The two girls dropped to their knees and covered their heads, their screams lost in the tumultuous cacophony around them.

When everything calmed down to more manageable levels, a louder cracking noise made the girls look up towards the oak tree before them.

The tree was glowing and began to split apart around the base, almost as if it was hollowing itself out. This continued until, in the now dimming light, Zelda could barely make out the shape of a slumped over figure inside the tree. When the light fully died down and all became quiet once more, they could clearly see a golden light radiating from the figure's hand as well.

Zelda and Malon were too frozen with fear to move, but they could clearly make out his features now. He had unruly looking blonde hair under a green, floppy hat covered in dirt and grime that framed a boyishly handsome face. His clothes were torn and ragged and a hole could clearly be seen in the green fabric that was stained a dark red around that area, though no wound could be seen. When Zelda got her bearings back she looked a little closer, surprised to see the slight rising and falling of his chest. "He's... alive?"

Malon gripped her arm tightly, "Ok, that was spooky. Let's leave. I've seen movies about this kind of stuff. Soon we'll be tied up on sticks and slow roasted over a fire or something and I don't taste good when I'm scared!"

Zelda didn't budge. In fact, she moved closer, despite Malon's best efforts. For some reason... looking at him... she felt... well, many things all at once.

Joy. Sadness. Anger. Frustration. Relief. Agony.

All of these caused a dull, throbbing ache in her heart the longer she stared. That feeling intensified as the man shifted and slowly fluttered his eyelids open, revealing a pair of beautiful, baby blue eyes.

"...Princess... Zelda...? You... found me...?"

* * *

Hoooooo boy! The plot thickens!

...

Well, maybe not for everyone who's done this song and dance before.

For those of you who have read the maiden story for this, do you like the subtle changes? What about the 'not-so-subtle' changes?

But now, on to the review replies!

Orbital: Glad you're interested so far! Hope I can live up to your expectations. Or dash them so hard it makes you read anyway out of spite. Whatever works :D

WindRiderX99: Honestly... it feels weird to be back. But a good kinda weird. Like I've take a deep breath of fresh air and the scent brought back a memory from my childhood. And yes... it has been a hot minute. Four years of a hot minute by my rough estimate, but hey, better late than never, right?

Stay tuned! And may the triforce be ever in your favor captain batman!


End file.
